false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1180458618m/1042495.jpg 1042495 6 Paraphrasing a passage from Machiavelli's <I>The Prince</I>, Kevin Phillips writes, "a ruler can ignore the mob and devote himself to the interests of the ruling class, gulling the inert majority who constitute the ruled." He then says, "Borgia references aside, 21st-century American readers of <I>The Prince</I> may feel that they have stumbled on a thinly disguised Bush White House political memo." These pointed words would sting regardless of who uttered them, but coming from Phillips, a former Republican strategist, they have an added piquancy. In <I>American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush</I>, Phillips traces the rise of the Bush family from investment banking elites to political power brokers, using their Ivy League network, vast wealth, and questionable political maneuvering to obtain the White House and consequently, shake the foundation of constitutional American democracy. Citing the Bush family mainstays of finance, energy (oil), the military industrial complex, and national security and intelligence (the CIA), Phillips uses copious examples to show the dangerous alliance between the Bushes' business interests (huge corporations such as Enron and Haliburton) and the formation of national policy. No other family, Phillips says, that has fulfilled its presidential aspirations has been so involved in the ascendancy of the arms industry and of the 21st-century American imperium--often at the expense of regional and world peace and for their personal gain. </p> It is hard to tell what offends Phillips the most: the Bushes' systematic deceit and secrecy, their shady business dealings, their cronyism, or their family philosophy that privileges the very wealthy and utterly dismisses all the rest. It is clearly all of these things combined. But at the top of Phillips' list is the dynastic nature of their family power, for it is that concentration of power and influence that strikes at the heart of our democracy. Past administrations have transgressed, albeit not so egregiously, and other political families have had dynastic ambitions. But none have succeeded as thoroughly as the Bushes. Jefferson and Madison would be horrified, and according to Phillips, we should be too. --<I>Silvana Tropea</I> 1258290 5 1 2004 American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush total:120|5:17|4:57|3:36|2:7|1:3| 120 438 201 25 0 0 false false Thu Feb 05 09:25:01 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 09:25:01 -0800 2009 Phillips, a former strategist for Richard Nixon, combines intelligent political analysis with sensationalist lore. He tells juicy (and scary) stories about the Walkers' financial dealings with the Nazis and the Bushes' support of Saddam Hussein's regime in the 1980s. He also ties together the politi...

more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Dec 13 00:42:20 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 13 00:42:45 -0800 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Wed Jan 14 21:50:43 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 21:50:43 -0800 2009 more...]]> 1 0 false false Mon Apr 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 27 12:32:04 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 27 12:34:11 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Fri Dec 05 09:01:22 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 05 09:07:12 -0800 2008 1 4 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 10 07:22:05 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 18 06:50:17 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Aug 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 12:46:55 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 28 06:03:29 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Sun Oct 26 22:16:22 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 26 22:17:02 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Aug 05 06:02:07 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 06:07:08 -0700 2009 1 0 false false Sat May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004 Mon Dec 24 09:59:06 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 24 09:59:39 -0800 2007 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sat Nov 21 09:10:46 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 21 09:10:46 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sun Jun 22 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jan 15 12:41:37 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 27 09:49:04 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Feb 10 16:21:31 -0800 2008 Tue Sep 09 13:47:49 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Dec 10 12:19:52 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 10 12:22:40 -0800 2007 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 12 15:57:23 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 12 15:59:48 -0700 2008 1 0 false false Mon Jan 14 11:34:53 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 22 06:13:01 -0800 2008 ]]> 3 0 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Jan 01 12:39:14 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 01 12:43:09 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Thu Mar 20 15:38:53 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 20 15:42:33 -0700 2008 2 0 false false Sat Aug 16 17:46:10 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 16 17:46:10 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Thu Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004 Sun Jan 20 16:16:37 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 20 16:17:07 -0800 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1042495